CHAPTER 172: CHAPTER 162: TEN THOUSAND MOUSE CAVE MAKES ITS MOVE

Qin An and his companions witnessed the scene before them, their brows furrowing tightly.

Looking from a distance, the person’s aura had completely vanished, only the silver badge on his waist emitted a faintly cold light, flickering like a dying candle.

Dongfang Mo stepped forward to investigate, shaking his head in regret, "His vitality is severed, beyond saving."

Zhao Hai scanned the surroundings, speaking in a deep voice, "It must have been a fierce battle with three monsters, ultimately perishing together."

The body of the Silver Guard, though fallen, still stood firm and upright like a pine tree.

Yan Li sighed deeply, moved him to a corner to rest, raised his hand gently closing those eyes that would never see again.

The surroundings were silent, only the sound of breathing fluctuating.

Guo Jinfa knocked his smoking pipe, sparks scattering, "Not long after entering the cave, we’ve already lost a comrade, the dangers of this Ten Thousand Mouse Cave far exceed expectations."

Cheng Hong said nothing, but his gaze silently turned to Qin An.

If not for Qin An’s ability to resist the arrays, rendering them ineffective, they might be battling alone like the other Silver Guards.

"Which path should we take?" Dongfang Mo glanced back at the three diverging paths, the lines on his forehead deepening.

The arrays within the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave were treacherous, the passages crisscrossing; one wrong step, and it would be like falling into a spider’s web, sinking deeper and deeper.

The rest exchanged glances, falling into deep thought.

Every choice now pertained to life and death.

No one could make a decision lightly.

At this moment, Qin An took a step toward the middle path.

Everyone was slightly stunned.

Qin An turned back, "This path has the densest array marks."

Guo Jinfa showed a look of sudden realization, "If that’s the case, this is the correct path."

All were veterans who had crawled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, understanding the meaning behind Qin An’s words.

The deeper the array marks, the more dangerous the array.

And if the array is dangerous, it means this path could not be simple.

If it were the wrong path, there would be no such complex arrays set there.

Only the correct path would be heavily guarded by arrays.

Without further words, everyone followed Qin An, continuing forward.

...

In the darkness, the jade in Cheng Hong’s hand shone like a lone firefly, casting eerie shadows on the surrounding stone walls.

The further they went, the more they felt a chilling aura circulating, as if a cold wind was creeping along their spines.

Qin An, walking at the forefront, suddenly came to a halt.

Though his expression couldn’t be seen in the dark, his tense posture made everyone draw their weapons, on high alert.

Qin An gripped the cold star in his hand, his voice like an icy blade, lightly saying, "The arrays are getting stronger, everyone be cautious."

He had a talent for resisting arrays, at the Great Success of the Gui Cang Realm level, yet even this resistance skill seemed slightly strained now.

Fortunately, Qin An’s array talent from the Gui Cang Realm could allow him to break through the formations.

The group twisted and turned for a long time, encountering many paths, but Qin An, relying on his foundation in arrays, found the correct way through each time.

After about another half an hour of walking, sounds of battle cries reached their ears.

At the darkness’s end, flashes of light appeared, interspersed with the clash of weapons, the sparks resembling thunder snakes darting around.

Qin An squinted his eyes, "Looks like someone’s in trouble."

Without hesitation, everyone rushed directly towards the source of the battle cries.

Before long, they arrived at an open space.

Several Silver Guards were ahead, holding weapons with their backs against the stone wall, battling several rat monsters.

The rat monsters wielded double blades, maneuvering in the cave’s dim environment, integrating their combined attack skills into the arrays, their ferocity overwhelming.

At this moment, three Silver Guards were being forced back, on the verge of defeat.

The arrival of Qin An and his group immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The leading Silver Guard showed a hint of joy, crying out for help, "Please, assist us!"

Although Silver Guards often competed with each other, they wouldn’t let a comrade die on the spot.

Without a word, Dongfang Mo drew his long sword from his waist, the sword emerging like a rainbow, slashing into the monster crowd.

Yan Li, Zhao Hai, and others were no less, leaping into the fray like tigers.

Qin An pressed the cold star on his waist, a touch of puzzlement in his eyes.

The crisis in the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave was greater than he imagined, and it was unlikely that there would only be this few monsters.

If it were so, the central province wouldn’t have made such a fuss, mobilizing so many Silver Guards for the mission.

But now the facts lay before him.

These Gui Cang Realm rat monsters might be strong outside, but they were still not enough against the Silver Guards.

"Perhaps there are other schemes at play," Qin An’s thoughts whirled.

"For now, it’s best to settle the current situation first."

Composing his mind, he saw a rat blade slash towards a comrade’s back, immediately displaying the Dragon Roar Wind Step, his form ghostly swift, the saber edge humming sharply!

...

Meanwhile, in an extremely secretive cave.

The Master of the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave drummed his fingers on the throne, the sound of metal and stone resonating.

"Three Golden Guard Silver Guards have come, all experts of the Vein Condensation Realm, heh... they certainly regard me highly."

"Rumor has it that the Fire Crow Clan Leader was gravely injured by the combined efforts of three Golden Guard Silver Guards."

Below, a Gui Cang Realm rat monster spoke nervously, "Master, many of our kin have already fallen to the Silver Guard’s hunt, if we don’t prepare a counterattack, the situation may spiral out of control."

The death of the Fire Crow Clan Leader was well known in the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave.

The Fire Crow Race’s information came from the Thousand-legged Cave.

The Thousand-legged Cave itself was a major monster power in Lingzhou; the reason for informing about the Fire Crow Race’s information was self-evident.

This might be related to the demon hall behind the Thousand-legged Cave.

This was precisely why the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave was unwilling to wholly surrender to the demon hall.

If they relied on the demon hall, they might one day be discarded as a pawn.

"What’s there to panic about!" The Master snapped, chastising, "The death of our kin should remind us, their blood buys us precious time!"

In the nearby open ground, over twenty Gui Cang Realm rat monsters sat like statues, objects in their claws glowing faintly.

Upon closer inspection, each rat monster concealed a geo-crystal in its hands.

Among them, two rat monsters were exceptionally powerful, having reached the pinnacle of the Gui Cang Realm, just a step away from entering the Vein Condensation Realm.

The Master clenched his sharp claws, "Speed up, after absorbing the geo-crystals, break through if you can, especially the Great Elder and the Second Elder, rely on the geo-crystals to refine your main veins, then break into the Vein Condensation Realm, that is my trump card against the Silver Guards."

The group of mouse demons sitting cross-legged quickened their pace upon hearing the words.

This was the Cave Master’s plan.

There were simply too many patrol officers this time. Ignoring the bronze officers, just the silver officers were enough to give the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave a headache.

Add to that three golden officers, and with only his Vein Condensation Realm strength, he was definitely not a match.

Even if the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave had a natural geographical advantage, able to kill off some patrol officers before they found them, it would only delay death.

So the Cave Master took out some of the collected earth vein crystals and distributed them to the mouse demons at the Returning to Storage Realm.

Especially the First Elder and the Second Elder.

They had been in the Returning to Storage Realm for too long, just a step away.

Now, after refining a main vein, breaking into the Vein Condensation Realm, their foundation was stronger than the ordinary Vein Condensation Realm.

Perhaps with the two elders along with him, they could stand against the three golden officers.

This was the only chance for survival.

The same clan members sent out were meant to buy them time.

With the Cave Master’s words falling, the two mouse demons at the peak Returning to Storage Realm at the front suddenly opened their eyes.

Immediately, their aura visibly surged, their veins bulging like pythons, reaching the edge of a breakthrough.

An immense atmosphere circulated, and in an instant, these two mouse demons, at the peak of the Returning to Storage Realm, crossed into the Vein Condensation Realm.

Simultaneously, the rest of the mouse demons at the Returning to Storage Realm howled, their demonic power escalating rapidly.

The Cave Master, seeing this, showed joy in his eyes, leaped up, and clashed his dual knives with a clang.

"Bring out the sacrifices!"

A mouse demon at the Returning to Storage Realm hurriedly walked toward a nearby cave.

Soon, he brought out a man bound tightly.

The Cave Master stepped forward indifferently, slicing the man’s throat with a knife, causing blood to spray.

Crimson wine was collected in goblets, and goblets of blood wine were placed before each mouse demon.

The Cave Master picked up one goblet, drank it all, and threw it on the ground with a light crack.

"Everyone, this battle is success or death! Win, and the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave will thrive for generations, replacing the Demon Hall. Lose, and our foundation will be destroyed."

"I hope everyone is not afraid of death."

The mouse demons led by the First and Second Elders exchanged a glance, drank the goblets of blood, and smashed them on the ground.

The sound of shattering echoed like thunder.

"This battle, live or die!"

The Cave Master nodded in satisfaction, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

"If Qin An is found, kill without mercy!"

"He ruined our plan for the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave, and I want him dead here!"

"Yes, sir!"

The numerous mouse demons saluted in unison.

The Cave Master took a step forward and walked towards a passage.

...

In the dim environment, a cold light flashed.

Lin Qianyu held a longsword, flicking off droplets of blood from it.

In front, lay the corpses of two mouse demons at the Returning to Storage Realm.

Their faces were twisted in death, with sword marks like a spider web across their bodies, indicating they suffered extreme pain before dying.

Lin Qianyu’s face was indifferent. After extracting the demonic cores, she walked toward one of the passages.

Her white boots tread through the blood.

She had been in here for a long time, encountering several mouse demons at the Returning to Storage Realm along the way, all of whom she killed with her longsword.

Lin Qianyu had already condensed two main veins, making her strength outstanding even within the Returning to Storage Realm.

During this period, even if she encountered some dangers, Lin Qianyu easily overcame them.

However, at this moment, Lin Qianyu’s expression seemed somewhat solemn.

"Getting stronger and stronger..."

Since entering the underground caverns, the enemies encountered had become increasingly powerful.

Up to now, she had already encountered two mouse demons at the Great Success of the Returning to Storage Realm.

Lin Qianyu knew the upcoming battles would be even more dangerous.

"That Qin An... is he dead or not?"

Unconsciously, Lin Qianyu thought of that hateful face and then shook her head.

On the plains, Qin An humiliated her; she wanted to meet Qin An in these caves.

Not to compete against Qin An, but to see him in danger and seek her help.

Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the caves and numerous arrays, Lin Qianyu had not, as she wished, encountered Qin An inside.

The darkness ahead grew thicker, but it could not obstruct Lin Qianyu’s sight.

After approximately a joss stick’s time, while Lin Qianyu was walking.

The dark passage suddenly echoed with faint footsteps.

Lin Qianyu abruptly looked up, a trace of seriousness in her eyes.

Two mouse demons at the Returning to Storage Realm suddenly appeared from the darkness and charged at her with twin knives.

These two mouse demons at the Returning to Storage Realm had extremely strong power, reaching the level of Great Success.

What Lin Qianyu didn’t expect was that she felt a familiar aura from these two mouse demons.

"They condensed their main veins with earth vein crystals!"

Lin Qianyu’s eyes widened slightly, and without time to think, she raised her longsword and engaged in battle with the two mouse demons.

The longsword was light and graceful, and every strike carried a biting wind sound.

The two Great Success mouse demons coordinated seamlessly, their saber momentum subtly merging with array mysteries.

Even someone as strong as Lin Qianyu, at this level, couldn’t take the slightest advantage under the siege of the two mouse demons at the Returning to Storage Realm.

She was even forced to retreat continuously.

A trickle of sweat appeared on Lin Qianyu’s forehead.

This was the first time she was at a disadvantage since entering the cave.

Unprecedented crisis enshrouded her mind, increasing her pressure sharply.

The same life-and-death gamble was playing out in countless dark paths.